Stories from Thursday, August 15, 1996

To the editor: I don't have the pleasure of knowing Emily Firebaugh, but I wouldn't have expected her, judging from what I have heard of her positions, to turn out to be a proponent of such a freedom-limiting device as term limits. Term-limits supporters are mainly disaffected conservatives who know and resent the fact -- despite seldom, sporadic and brief episodes of conservative control of Congress -- that without term limits conservatives will never attain and maintain control of Congress for the long term. ...

The city of Cape Girardeau will host a public open house from 4:30-7:30 p.m. today to get public comment on proposed Bloomfield Road improvements. Project staff will be on hand at the A.C. Brase Arena Building to answer questions from citizens. Maps of the area, fact sheets and comment cards will be available...

Janah Jateff and Pam Brown are looking for good, honest volunteers. Jateff, organizer of Project CHARLIE in Cape Girardeau, said that she and Brown are looking for at least four more adult volunteers to do classroom Project CHARLIE activities with second- and fourth-grade children during the upcoming school year...

When there's a crisis, emergency personnel are on the scene immediately to help the victims. But once the crisis is past, who helps the helpers? Personnel from area police, fire and emergency medical services, counseling services and area hospitals, met Wednesday at Southeast Missouri Hospital to discuss critical incident stress management (CISM)...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Elvis is still king. Almost 20 years after the death of the "King," Elvis Presley still has fans all across the world. Many of those fans are expected to visit Memphis during "Elvis Week" activities, which conclude Saturday. Friday is the 19th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. He died Aug. 16, 1977, at age 42...

From the crowded Cairo levee to the swamps of Southeast Missouri, the Civil War had a human face. Both John Brinton and Charles Wills witnessed the war, serving in the Union Army. Both men spent time in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois in the war's early stages. Their letters and memoirs offer a glimpse of the war from a personal perspective...

SO THERE may be life on Mars. I would like to ask: Who in the heck cares? But I suppose our government will spend trillions of dollars trying to find out more about it. Only in America, folks. What a country. TO THE "Freedom of Religion" caller: Not to destroy his beliefs or anything, but the Bible is the basis of most of our laws. So realistically, it is the law of our land...

A blueprint for a construction project provides a glimpse into the future. It shows people what the project will look like before it is done. The Lexington Avenue and North Sprigg Street extensions afford people an opportunity to envision a booming neighborhood in the not-so-distant future...

The number of residential burglaries has more than doubled over the last year in Cape Girardeau. Police feel that much of the crime wave can be attributed to a single person who is still on the loose. In 1981, authorities captured a man who had committed more than 80 burglaries that year...

KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau is among seven stations being sold by AFLAC Inc., a Columbus, Ga.-based insurance company. AFLAC announced Tuesday that it had signed a letter of intent to sell its broadcast division to Raycom Media Inc. in a transaction valued at $485 million...

In an effort to save part of his yard, a local peridontist Wednesday night submitted plans to the Planning and Zoning Commission for the New Madrid-Henderson street intersection. Dr. Taylor Bahn lives near the hazardous spot, and recent plans to realign the streets would have taken a sizable portion of his property. He threatened to fight the city on the issue...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Kathy Salvi, wife of Al Salvi, a Republican candidate for U.S. senator from Illinois, says she and her family are taking a "vacation." The vacation entails getting together all five children, a press secretary, a campaign manager, grandma, and, of course, Al, loading them up in a tour bus and heading off on a 1,000-mile, 43-county, eight-day trip through the heart of Illinois...

Aug. 15, 1996 Dear Leslie, Marriage is turning out to be as tricky a proposition as advertised. Not that I expected less. Just that I thought we could easily talk our way out of whatever came up. At the moment, both DC and I are walking around under clouds that look like vague disappointment and real misunderstanding. Cumulus defensive...

SAN DIEGO -- Bursting with emotion, Jack Kemp made quite an impression during his first public speech since being tagged as the GOP vice presidential candidate, according to a Jackson woman who was in attendance. Donna Lichtenegger, an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention, heard Kemp speak Wednesday afternoon before a Small Business Administration gathering...

BLOOMFIELD -- Steve L. Lewis, 95, of Bloomfield, died Tuesday, Aug. 13, 1996, at Bloomfield. He was born Aug. 31, 1900, in Bulgaria, son of Despa Vulcheff and Lazar Lazaroff. He married the former Jewell E. Moore in St. Louis. She died Dec. 7, 1990...

Funeral service for Charles Freeman Holifield, 120 N. Sunset, will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Ford and Sons Mt. Auburn Chapel. The Rev. Luther Rhodes will officiate, with burial in Lorimier Cemetery. Friends may call at the chapel from 4-8 p.m. today...

JACKSON -- Hazel Haynes, 76, of Jackson, died Tuesday, Aug. 13, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Aug. 7, 1920, in Cape Girardeau, daughter of John O. and Caroline Green Seabaugh. She and Joseph Vincent Haynes were married April 6, 1941, in Cape Girardeau...

BLOOMFIELD -- Michael L. Hancock, 40, of Bloomfield, died Wednesday, Aug. 14, 1996, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 2, 1956, in Poplar Bluff, son of Eldon and Mirl Metcalf Hancock. He and Robin Davis were married Oct. 13, 1979, at Arab...

PERRYVILLE -- Herman J. Schumer, 82, of Perryville, died Tuesday, Aug. 13, 1996, at his home. He was born July 8, 1914, in Perry County, son of Herman J. and Elona Moore Schumer. He and Minnie Huber were married July 11, 1939. Schumer was a retired carpenter. He was a member of St. Vincent's Catholic Church and Carpenters Local 2030...

ANNA, Ill. -- Charles D. Brimm, 73, of Anna, died Wednesday, Aug. 14, 1996, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau. He was born April 9, 1923, in Anna, son of Dee and Vica Young Brimm. He and Helen Wood were married Jan. 15, 1946. Brimm was a member of Anna Heights Baptist Church and VFW Post 3455. He was a veteran of World War II...

ALTENBURG -- Richard J. Gerler, 56, of Altenburg, died Tuesday, Aug. 13, 1996, at Missouri Veterans Home in Mexico. He was born Jan. 12, 1940, in Altenburg, son of Walter and Willa Golden Gerler. Gerler had been an assembler at General Motors. Survivors include two brothers, Ralph Gerler of Mexico, Ray Gerler of Altenburg; and a sister, Mamie Schmidt of Frohna...

CHAFFEE -- Stella Mae Cook, 85, of Chaffee, died Wednesday, Aug. 14, 1996, at Heartland Care and Rehab Center in Cape Girardeau. She was born Nov. 27, 1910, at Laflin, daughter of Charles F. and Ida Belle Poston Huffman. She and Frank Cook Sr. were married in 1933. He died Sept. 14, 1966...

MILL CREEK, Ill. -- Lester "Peck" Wheaton, 84, of Mill Creek, died Wednesday, Aug. 14, 1996, at his home. Hileman and Parr Funeral Home in Jonesboro is in charge of arrangements.

Son to Vernon Wayne and Sonya Angelene Heid, 2800 Pioneer, Southeast Missouri Hospital, 3:39 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9, 1996. Name, Chance Parker. Weight, 8 pounds 9 ounces. Third child, second son. Mrs. Heid is the former Sonya Helton, daughter of Delene Helton and Russell Helton of Eldorado, Ill. Heid is the son of Lynda Heid of Marion, Ill. He is employed at Cape Toyota-Suzuki...

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- Nelda Emilie Saupe, 94, died Saturday, Aug. 13, 1996, at the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau. She was born Oct. 12, 1901, in Shawneetown, daughter of the late Joseph and Wilhilmine Lang Saupe. She was a retired pharmacy assistant for Tenkhoff Pharmacy and Bill's Family Pharmacy. She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church of Cape Girardeau and the Trinity Guild...